Yes, you read that right. After 27 horribly boring days, we only have 12 days of bed rest left. I do not know whether to be excited, or go in to full, knock-out, drag-out panic mode. I think it is a little bit of both!!!!
That's right, on Sunday, January 8th, we will head to Labor and Delivery in the evening to begin the induction process. I will be exactly 37 weeks, and they obviously were not kidding when they said they would not let me go a day past 37 weeks due to preeclampsia. The risk for seizures is way too high after 37 weeks. That night, we will begin with medications to soften my cervix, then Monday morning we will try to start the contractions. Since I will just barely be considered full term and showing no signs of labor, this will more than likely be a very long process, since we will be trying to force my body into labor. They expect Avery to make her presence in the world late Monday night, or the wee hours of Tuesday morning...so it looks like we will have a January 9th or 10th birthday! WOO HOO!!!!
Until then, I am still on bed rest, obviously, but knowing a date makes it seem so much more real. I have so much that needs to be done. Our perfectly clean and ready for baby house, now has Christmas decorations and presents scattered everywhere, hospital bags from Christmas night thrown on the floor....complete disaster zone. My poor husband is about to have a very long "Honey-Do" list....
The past few weeks have been somewhat of a roller coaster. I cannot sleep. I cannot get comfortable. And since about Dec 5th, I have had the worst head congestion. What's worst, is a simple little pseudoephedrine would make my life so much more enjoyable, but due to my high blood pressure, I am not allowed...so instead, I am milking it with Benedryl, Tylenol, and a Neti Pot....Not working!
My amniotic fluid has been hovering around 7.0 each doctor's visit. Avery always looks wonderful, once they can wake her up. This chick loves to sleep, and she sure does not like to be messed with. Blood pressure varies...some good days, some bad days...same ole juggling act we have been doing for a few weeks now. Nothing better, nothing worse.
We were given orders to not go all out for Christmas. Dr. Miles who we love so dearly did not want us traveling and did not want us participating in big family Christmas gatherings, as it would probably send my blood pressure through the roof. So, Mike and I stayed home and had a little quiet, cozy Christmas. He cooked a turkey breast (which turned out amazing), we made a few casseroles, Wendy brought over a pecan pie...and I napped most of the day. That night, Mike and I were sitting around playing Yahtzee when I noticed my ankles were awfully puffy...which was odd, considering I have been laying down all day. I had him check my blood pressure. 156/114. TOO HIGH!!! With my preeclampsia, anything 160/110 and they want me to head straight into Labor and Delivery for fear of having seizures. We took an Aldomet, laid down for an hour, taking it every 15 minutes and it still was hovering at the dangerous levels. We called, and Dr. Miles was on-call at the hosptial, said to come on it. Mike and I both jump in the shower, pack bags (you would think we would have been prepared!!), and hurried off the L&D...of course, by the time we got there, laid me on my left side, and let the medicine run it's course, my blood pressure was dropping. They monitored us for 4 hours, watching my blood pressure continue to go lower, and we waited out the swelling and the headaches. Once gone, we were allowed to go home.
Since then, we have been back to our easy, breezy, same ole, same ole routine. We had an ultrasound and doctor's appointment today, and guess what....our amniotic fluid is back up to 10.11!!!!!! We are no longer considered LOW, just the lowest ACCEPTABLE level....but hallelujah, we can say we are in the NORMAL RANGE!!! I guess it is a fact, if you drink up to 12-14 glasses of water a day and are on bed rest, your fluids WILL go back up! GO AVERY!!!! And, Avery is in the 30th percentile weighing in at a whopping 6 lbs. Healthy as can be!!! By our induction, she will probably be around 6.5-7 lbs.
We are so excited and it seems so much more real now that we have an induction date, but I ask that you all join us in praying for an easy, short and not too horrifying induction. People always say they would not wish an induction on their worst enemy, which is making me super nervous about it.
We love you all and cannot wait to post pictures of this sweet little girl. Now, I'm off the write that "Honey-Do" List....
No comments:
Post a Comment